Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Bring our war $$$$ home

Five new drawings by William Hessian and a bunch more drawings by great artists in Maine.

The doors of the Hall of Flags in Augusta Maine burst open. I walk through the door, but I am not walking into the State House in Augusta alone. I've got a team! On one side I have artist Brian Reeves and artist/musician Monica Cooper, on the other side is dancer Bethany Louisos and in a backpack on her back is her daughter Dezzie. Our hands are overflowing with art supplies. As we march into the rotunda, we join an army of activists, protesters, artists.

It's not long before we are lost in the crowd of chants, yelling for Governor LePage to return the Labor Mural to its rightful place. "PUT IT BACK UP" "PUT IT BACK UP".

I race over the table of artists, who are drawing away. Al Chrichton and Paula Dougherty are pumping out brilliant works of art. The goal is to illustrate what to spend our war dollars on other than the war! This group of artists is like a family of creators, and we are surrounded by stacks of screen prints. Behind us are clotheslines filled with drawings and paintings. Kenny Cole is like a master puppeteer organizing everyone to make sure the chaos is controlled, all while drawing his own submissions. The crowd around us is slapping stickers on our shirts, singing songs, yelling for justice. Cameras buzz around us like droids collecting all the news. Reporters are trying to report. Artists are trying to paint. Protestors are trying to protest. Speakers are trying to speak.

The Punk Patriot enters with his own camera and plants himself in the middle of it all. The Raging Grannies are singing original songs. At the pedestal, I cannot see, but I can hear people like Natasha Mayers, Robert Shetterly, Bruce Ganon, Nicole Moreau and Lisa Savage and many others. The chants are literally rattling the office door of Governor LePAge and we chant "Bring our war dollars home!"